The Sodding Champion of Kirkwall
by Ookami Z
Summary: Hawke went a little too far when she punched Isabela in front of Velasco. Hawke claims it was to make it "real" but Isabela doesn't believe her. Deeper motives and feelings make the two women realize what they mean to each other. Fem.Hawke x Isabela
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: Just a little thing that came to my mind as I was playing Dragon Age 2. WHICH I MUST MENTION IS THE BEST GAME EVA! **

**Enjoy and please review :)  
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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own this characters. I do own a copy of the game though...because I PREORDERED IT LIKE TWO MONTHS EARLY! Two months of painful waiting. Oh well, SO WORTH IT!<p>

**The _sodding_ Champion of Kirkwall**

"You punched me!"

Hawke looked around her room, finding herself helplessly alone with the very pissed pirate. "You told me to make it real!" Hawke said in her defense.

"Yes, but not so bloody hard! You seemed to almost enjoy it!" Isabela inspected the mage closely, "You enjoyed it didn't you? Flaming hell! You got a kick out of punching me!"

Hawke kicked back her covers and got up from her bed. A thought occured to her as she wondered how the pirate had managed to sneak into her estate and into her room without alerting anyone, but of course this thought was fleeting as she realized it was Isabela she was talking about.

Isabela stood defiantly against Hawke as the mage tried to stare her down. Nobody yelled at Hawke like that. The sodding Champion of Kirkwall who would make a storm of fire fall upon the unlucky soul who dared raised their voice at her, even those who traveled with her like Fenris. Especially Fenris.

As the anger in Isabela's eyes burned, Hawke had to look away. She knew this conversation was coming, Isabela not being one to stay quiet about anything, much less about what had happened. She had actually been surprised Isabela had waited so long to say anything. "I'm sorry, I-"

A sharp sting crossed across Hawke's cheek as Isabela's palm flew through her face. "Not only did you punch me, but you made me lose my damned ship! How could you do that to me?"

Now Hawke's blood boiled.

Screaming was one thing, slapping her was a whole different issue. With her staff out of reach, Hawke pushed Isabela across the room with ease after catching the woman by surprise. After pinning her against the way, her anger flared, "You have nothing to reproach me. I did what had to be done. I bought that bastard to justice, my justice. If you are too selfish to see that, it's your problem." Even as the left her mouth, Hawke couldn't help but think of the hypocrisy of those words.

Isabela pushed Hawke off with a huff. "You bloody traitor. After all we've been through, you turn against me."

Hawke chuckled bitterly, "All we have been through? All I've done is try my best to be a descent human being for you and all I get is a lay while you sleep with random strangers every other night. I see nothing we have been through, and if anyone is a traitor, it wasn't me who left my so-called friends at risk of them being killed!"

"But I came back!"

"Why! Why did you come back? You could have been too late! You had no way of knowing how things would turn out! You left us to rot in the hell you had created!"

Hurt now replaced the anger that had filled Isabela's eyes mere seconds before. "How could you- Why bring it up now?"

Hawke turned to look away from Isabela, finding the flames of her fireplace to be more bearable to look at than Isabela, "Because you broke my heart when you left. Coming back only made it worse because seeing you so close yet so far away is killing me."

Isabela was left speechless.

She had been aware of the other woman's feelings for her but hoped that over time she had given up and moved on. She had even made an effort of having Hawke know of her sexual escapades in order to encourage Hawke to forget about her. Isabela wished for Hawke to find someone who truly deserved her, not a pirate wrench like herself.

Not being able to mutter another word, Isabela turned and left the room as soundlessly as she had entered. Once isabela was gone, Hawke released a quiet sob and returned to her bed.

-

"Mistress Hawke, Captain Aveline is here to see you." Orana said softly as she looked at her mistress who was lying in bed under her covers.

"Tell her to piss off!" Hawke's mumbled in her signature bitchy tone.

"I heard that Hawke." Aveline's voice revealed her presence in Hawke's room. Hawke quickly came out of her blanket cocoon, "What are you doing in my room?" Aveline shrugged, "I'm here to see you. Obviously." Hawke glared at her, "Out. Now."

Ignoring Hawke, Aveline sat on the edge of Hawke's bed as she dismissed Orana with a wave of her hand. "Three days Hawke. Three days without hearing anything about charbroiled bodies of criminals found in lowtown. Three days of increased crime rate. And three days of more Meredith and Orsino drama. I need to know what has the Champion of Kirkwall so down."

Hawke raised her brow, "Have you seriously come all the way here to tell me your guard is useless? If so, I already knew that." Aveline ignored Hawke's comment, as she did most of the woman's sarcastic comments. "Whatever it is Hawke, you can tell me. You need to get out of your blanket shell and face the world. This city needs you." Aveline was reminded of the weeks following Leandra's death. Hawke had been an angry, rude, crude, blunt _and_ sarcastic person before, the epitome of what a true bitch should be, but after her mother's death, her anger merely increased and she shut everyone out. After growing up being chased for being an apostate mage, her father dying, her sister dying, her mother dying, and her brother practically abandoning her, Aveline could see how a woman would become angry at the world for her fortune. Even though she was rich and powerful, Aveline knew that Hawke felt alone. Even though the two had had many conflicts in the past, Aveline could not help but care for the younger woman she had known for so long.

Hawke returned to her cocoon, "Everyone needs me." She felt tears coming back, and although she tried to keep them from spilling, she was overwhelmed, "Everyone except the one person I wish did."

"Isabela." Aveline stated matter-of-factly. She had a feeling the pirate whore, as she liked to call her, had something to do in all of this. Isabela was the only person who Hawke had ever been different with her. Around Isabela Hawke didn't seen as angry, was more relaxed, and for the maker's sake, she even made jokes! No matter how much of a problem Isabela was to Aveline, she had to admit that Isabela made Hawke a better person. She was sure that if it hadn't been for Isabela, Hawke might have never left her estate after Leandra's death.

The mage looked up in confusion, "How-"

Aveline chuckled lightly, "Everyone knows Hawke. The way you look at her when you think nobody is looking. The subtle ways you find to touch her, be it a simple pat on the shoulder or a lingering caress, and the way you always manage to keep her out of harm's way when we battle, even though she is capable of taking care for herself." Hawke looked away, a blush creeping to her cheeks. Aveline continued, "You try to be tough and rude, but with her, you are different. You are better. One would have to be blind not to notice Hawke." Aveline recalled the incident with Zevran, "You even spared her ex-lover's life just because she suggested it! If she hadn't been there you would've frozen him to death!"

Hawke smirked, "I did manage to send him a little spell that would cause horrors in his head once he was farther away from us."

"That's the Hawke I know!" Aveline declared with a laugh. Hawke sighed, "She hates me Aveline. I ruined it all." Hawke went on to explain what had transpired the night Isabela had visited her three days ago.

"So," Hawke concluded, "As you can see, she must hate me."

Aveline remained quiet for a while. It all made sense now. She had received several reports since that night about a woman fighting repeatedly at the hanged man and also received various complaints from residents of lowtown about illegal dueling in the street. She had hoped it wasn't Isabela, but now she was sure. "Hawke, you have to talk to her. If you just stay here thinking of all the ways she hates you, you won't ever know. Besides, you aren't the type of woman to stay groveling in her room."

Hawke pondered this for a moment. Whilst she had not much prior experience with relationships since most people annoyed her, she knew that Aveline was right. If she was going to get a chance to win Isabela back, she had to go to her. She also needed to apologize since deep down, she knew she had gone too far with punching her. She had never been one that could talk about her feelings easily. That was Bethany. She was the "let's-talk-about-our-feelings" type while Carver was the "emo-I-hate-me" type. She, Mari Hawke, was the "I-will-kick-your-ass" type. Isabela had hurt her feelings, ones she was unaware of having, and the only way she knew how to handle it was violence. She could have slammed her against the ground with a force spell or something, so it wasn't as bad she it could have been...then again, she doubted that telling Isabela: "Hey I could have slammed your skull into the ground or thrown a massive fireball at you, you got off easy," would help her cause. Yep, definitely would not help.

"You know what?" Hawke said with new-found confidence as she got up and walked to her dresser, "You are right. I am the damn Champion of Kirkwall. I am Hawke. I do not run away from my problems. I will show Isabela that I am better than that."

Aveline grinned, "That's more like it!"

Hawke stopped in her trail and turned to Aveline, "Now leave, I need to bathe and you are so not my type,"

Aveline rolled her eyes, "You will never change, Hawke." As she approached the door, Hawke called out to her once more, "Oh and please send Orana to my room." Aveline turned back to meet Hawke's smug smile, "What?" Hawke asked unimpressed, "I _am _important enough to have someone bathe me you know."

Aveline merely shook her head and left.

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><p><strong>an: This is supposed to be a one-shot. If you guys want to see what happens when Hawke goes to meet Isabela, let me know and I will post a "sequel" to this one with what happens and (what I think) is the real reason Hawke kills Castillon. Review Please :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello! Yes, I decided to just add another chapter to this one because I like the title. LOL. Thanks for all the beautiful feedback about the first chapter! Now, I know this is not accurate with the game, but honestly, if you wanted to see those scenes over, you would just go play the game. So this is how I see things going down with my Hawke who is a bitch. (Choosing the "red" option is always more fun :P ) In my head, if you are a mage who grew up being chased and feared for something that is out of your control, then your dad, sister, and mother dies, and your brother is a whinny little bitch, you have a right to be a bitch. But that's just me :P**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own the game. I do own a copy which I play a lot :)<p>

**The Sodding Champion of Kirwall**

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_Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right._

Hawke felt foolish as she kept track of her steps as she walked to the Hanged Man. She wished there was some sort of teleportation spell so she could just appear in the bar and get it over with, but no, she had to walk all the way from Hightown to the bar. She had no doubt Isabela would be there since she _lived_ there and it was night time. She knew the pirate never missed a night at the bar.

She found the streets to be eerily calm for a night in Lowtown and was annoyed by that. She hoped to be able to kick some ass before getting to the Hanged Man to relieve some stress. As she came within view of the Hanged Man, she realized that wasn't happening.

Stopping in front of the bar, Hawke cringed slightly as the smells of vomit and piss filled her nostrils. Oh how she hated this place. Always had, and always would, limiting her visits to the absolute necessary when she was on a mission. And when she wanted to see Isabela, like right now.

Hawke stepped towards the door, ready to face the pirate, but froze when she heard loud noises from inside the tavern. Even louder than the usual.

"Come back here you filthy-" The man's screams were interrupted by what sounded like a loud slam. The door flew open and a man flew out. Following behind him was Isabela, and to this Hawke quickly moved behind a nearby stall.

"You scum bag!" Hawke heard Isabela call out before walking over to the unconscious man and kicking him for good measure. Hawke's eyes widened when she spotted five large mercenaries running out of the tavern and going after Isabela. The pirate turned and smirked when she saw the approaching men, "Oh, the more the merrier!"

Isabela managed to take out four of them, but the largest of them managed to tackle her and in that short time she was down, six more men showed up from nowhere. Hawke figured they were from some sort of gang.

"Now you die, you whore." Isabela heard the man who was pinning her against the ground say into her ear. His breath made her gag, "Get off me you ugly bastard." Her eyes darted around and she realized she was surrounded. _This is so not how I wanted to die._ She thought. What would Hawke think when she found out that Isabela, the great pirate Isabela, was killed outside a lowly tavern?

"Get away from her." The familiar voice broke Isabela of her thoughts as she saw the men around her turning away towards the new presence. The night was dark, without a moon, so the men could not make out who the voice was, but they all suddenly found themselves being lifted against the ground and then slammed forcefully, a couple of them dying on impact. Isabela was freed from her restraints and quickly backed away from the remaining men, knowing what was coming next.

From the shadows Isabela could see flames light up before fire began to rain on the men. Their shrilling screams pierced the night air as they became engulfed in flames. As their last breaths escaped their charbroiled bodies, Mari Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall, walked out from the shadows.

"Hawke." Isabela cringed internally at how weak her voice sounded, but she couldn't help it. She had almost been killed for her foolishness of trying to bite more than she could chew. Ever since her fallout with Hawke, she had been in so many fights she could no longer keep count. Getting kicked out of the Hanged Man constantly and being chased by the city guard every night. The only way she could keep her mind off Hawke was to keep her blades busy. Today she had almost lost her life for that.

"Isabela," Hawke said softly as she approached the pirate. Isabela's eyes swept the ground beside them, "Thank you Hawke." Hawke looked to the bloody mess that surrounded them, "Can we go somewhere to talk?"

Isabela nodded "Let's go."

The pirate led them to the docks where the salty midnight breeze made the pirate feel at home. Isabela leaned against a column as her eyes remained fixed on the sea, "What did you want to talk about?"

Hawke swallowed nervously, "I wanted to apologize."

"A-apologize?" Isabela stammered in surprise. She had not expected that. Hawke was not the type of woman to apologize. To anybody. Hawke nodded, "Yes, for punching you…and for what I said the other night in my room."

Isabela remained silent for what seemed an eternity to Hawke.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Isabela finally said, "It is me who needs to apologize. Everything you said that night is true. Everything, and you have no idea how much I regret leaving. Leaving for three years after the Qunari incident, leaving with the relic, and the thing I regret the most is leaving your room that first night."

Hawke's mouth suddenly became dry, "You mean-"

Isabela stepped towards the Champion, "You were right Hawke. I was not afraid of loving, I was afraid of being loved. I never thought I was good enough for you. I knew you would never hurt me, but I was afraid of hurting you. Hurting you breaks me Hawke, but all my attempts to not hurt you only ended up hurting you more. I left with the relic without plans to come back, but as I fled, my heart couldn't take it. I couldn't bear being away from you. You were the first person to ever treat me like an equal, and to show me that you cared about me no matter the mistakes of my past. I came back because of you, and like I told you before departing after the incident, it has always been about you."

Hawke's eyes were glazed with tears, "Then why did you leave Isabela. For three years you abandoned me. Then you-you came back."

A tear ran down Isabela's cheek, "I left because I could feel myself falling for you. Falling hard. I thought that coming back with the relic was a mistake but I don't regret it. I figured that since everything with the Qunari was settled, I had no need to be here. You were the champion of Kirkwall! If at first I wasn't good enough for you, much less when you were named the Champion. We are from two different worlds Hawke, and no matter how I feel for you, I know it can't happen."

Isabela turned away but Hawke grabbed her arm quickly, "But what about how I feel? Does that not matter?" Tears now grazed down Hawke's eyes, "Those three years were unbearable for me. I dreamed of you every night, I couldn't help it. I was mad at myself for falling in love with someone who felt nothing for me, who had left me. Three years became an eternity." Isabela looked down as she could not bear to see Hawke's pain, "And then you came back. After three years, you just appeared out of nowhere in the Hanged Man. I thought I was dreaming, but you came back." Hawke had had a hard time dealing with Isabela's return but had managed to forgive her because no matter how angry she felt, she loved Isabela and love forgives everything.

Isabela cradled Hawke's face in her hands, the salty breeze of the ocean matching their tears, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. If I weren't who I am. If this were other times, another life, we could-"

Hawke did not let Isabela finish as she leaned in to kiss her. Their lips coming together after what seemed an eternity. They could taste each other's tears in that brief moment where nothing else mattered. Nothing that had happened, nothing that was said or done.

Only they mattered.

After a few moments, Hawke pulled back, "I cannot wait for another life Isabela. I don't want another life. I just want this one. This one life where we are together. Where we love each other and nothing else matters."

"Thank you for waiting for me Hawke." Isabela whispered as she hugged Hawke and rested her head on the mage's shoulder. Hawke wrapped her arms around the pirate, "Don't ever leave me again Isabela. Please." Hawke felt slightly embarrassed for seeming so needy, but even thought she would never admit it in front of others, Isabela was the only person to ever get through her strong barriers, and inside lived a hopeless romantic who only wanted to love and be loved.

Isabela shook her head, "Never again."

They stayed in their embrace for a long time before Hawke pulled away suddenly, "I was selfish." Hawke saw Isabela's look of confusion and continued, "I killed Castillon because I didn't want you to leave. I didn't want you to have a ship and leave me again. I couldn't deal with the thought of losing you once again. I just couldn't. I'm sorry."

Isabela smiled as she took Hawke's hand and began to lead them back to Hightown to Hawke's Estate. "I'm glad you killed him then. Because Maker knows that I don't want to leave."

Hawke happily allowed herself to be lead by the pirate, "I thought you liked big boats." She teased, remembering what Isabela had said in the fade.

Isabela looked back at her with a smirk, "But I love you more than the biggest boat on the sea, and you know I cannot lie."

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><p><strong>AN: Cheesy? Yes? Good, because that was the point. When I see (my) Hawke being all tough and rude with people I can't help but think "Oh, she's like those candies with hard shell and soft stuff inside." That's why she forgave Isabela so easily. Also think about it. She's the SODDING champion of Kirkwall, she could die any day. Granted, so could we all, but she goes out on missions against High Dragons, blood mages, demons, and who knows what other evils, so as you can see. She has no time to waste if she wants to spend her life with someone. If that someone is Isabela, then so be it :P**

**What you all think of it? Please review :) I was thinking of writing a couple more chapters of this. To have the companion's reactions to their relationship and stuff. What do you think? Let me know :) I know I have other stories to work on but I enjoy writing Hawke :P Besides, I'm graduating soon ! So more time to finish my stories :D**

**_REVIEW PLEASE AND THANK YOU! :D_  
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